Max Toy x Mecha Zone Drazoran collab
A quick peek at a very exciting collab with David White aka Mecha Zone with our Kaiju Drazoran !
Full details very soon ! 😉
Tag Archives: made in japan
Kaiju vs Heroes Japanese American National Museum show 2018
This AWESOME image by the extraordinary Photographer Brian McCarty will be the signature image for the upcoming “Kaiju vs Heroes: Mark Nagata’s Journey through the World of Japanese Toys ” exhibit at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.
Here’s what Brian said about the image he took :
Shot for the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, the photo celebrates the upcoming exhibition “Kaiju vs Heroes,” featuring Mark Nagata’s unrivalled collection of vintage Japanese toys. Born out of the cultural ashes of World War II, these distinctive soft vinyl figures became both a means for Japanese Americans to reconnect with their culture and an apt metaphor for postwar relations between the United States and Japan.
The exhibit opens on September 15th, 2018 and will run for about 6 months into 2019. We have various events etc planned so stay tuned for more info on the exhibit in the coming months.
By the way, if you don’t already know, please check out the important work Brian is doing for his War Toys project – https://wartoysproject.com/
You know I just make these silly toy collectibles …but, out in the real world people like Brian are actually making a difference for these kids caught in very tragic conditions.
Max Toy Updates January 2018
Happy New Year, Max Toy Fans ! Ok, just a bunch of stuff to catch up .. after selling through our first shipment of Sofubi-man, we have another batch on order, so decided to take PRE ORDERS for them here: https://www.maxtoyco.com/shop_item.php?id=1371
Should have more Flesh Sofubi-man by months end, by the way
Next week, via Clutter Gallery, I painted this Galaxy “I Heart Skull” resin skull for their next gallery show ! Skull designed by the famous Ron English. Contact Clutter for Preview list and more info !
And also this very cool ( pun intended) Winter Crusher G custom by artist James Osborne has just sold !
And finally, over the Holidays I got this stunning, original pencil art of my cats, Lulu and Trixie !!! Artist and Max Toy fan, Maya Doka is the artist – http://www.mayadoka.com/
I’m sorry my picture does not do the artwork justice .. it’s has some very subtle grey tones in the pencil work and captures the Cats purrfectly 😉
Sofubi-man First colorway
Happy New Year 2018 !
Sofubi-man is now ready for a wider release via our web store: https://www.maxtoyco.com/shop_item.php?id=1371
This first version is cast in Flesh (Fresh) soft vinyl (sofubi), and he stands about 6 inches tall, with articulation at the neck. Sofubi-man, is my homage to the men and women who cast soft vinyl in Japan. As many of you may (or not) know, I’ve had a life long love affair with soft vinyl kaiju since 1973. But, it wasn’t till much later that I found out more about the actual process of making and casting these types of toys. The last few years I’ve had a goal to make a Sofubi-man out of Sofubi !
Sofubi-man is magically sculpted by Cristina Ravenna, with Max Toy coordination by Yo Miyamoto and of course expertly cast in Tokyo by real Sofubi-men 😉
Happy Holidays from Max Toy Company 2017
Thank you Everyone for your kind words and support of Max Toy Company ! As we enter our Lucky 13th year, 2018 is already booked ;-P Look for new toy projects, conventions and in September 2018 at the Japanese American National Museum, Kaiju vs Heroes – Mark Nagata’s Journey through the World of Japanese Toys (!) I’m co-curating the show with Maria Kwong ( http://www.latdamuseum.org/ ) More info coming in the new year so stay tuned and see you there !
Max Toy x Wonder Goblin TriPus Lottery
Wow !!! Amazing custom painted Kaiju TriPus by Wonder Goblin are now up for sale via Lottery !
Full details here: https://www.wondergoblin.com/blog/
And once you read the instructions, fill out this form: https://www.wondergoblin.com/lottery
Lottery window is only 4 hours so don’t delay !
Good luck, these look awesome !!!
Office Cats Clutter Holiday Show 2017
These one off Max Toy Office Cats painted by Mark Nagata will be available at this weekends ( December 9th) Gift Wrapped 2017 Holiday show at the Clutter Gallery.
Info and Preview list here: https://www.cluttermagazine.com/about/gallery-preview-list
Meow !
Max Toy Updates
Just some random updates since Dcon and look for a new Sillyamnder for sale next week !
Thank you for a most awesome Dcon ! We had an amazing response and will be back next year for sure 😉 I wanted to also thank everyone who came up to me to just say “Hello” or give a kind compliment … this was the best part of the show !
Set up with booth mate Doug Hardy ! Doug also was selling his Witch Cat LuLu figure !
Max ready to go as the doors open … have no idea at this point if we’ll sell anything !
In the midst of the toy frenzy buying madness, the most famous cartoonist Thien Pham ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjvLgLvGZiQ ) surprised us with a gift… a box of Howlin Rays chicken sandwich. To be honest, I’ve never heard of it but a random guy saw the box and dashed over and told us it’s a 2 hour wait to get a box and in fact he’d never even seen the box so he had to take a picture of it ;-P Thien did warn us it might be “hot” … Later, Max really wanted to try it but we aren’t really use to spicy foods, so i went first. Lets just say while the flavor was great I don’t think I’ve ever eaten anything this “hot” and my mouth was on FIRE 😉 I told Max he’d better not try it, though he did later and had the same reaction, haha …
Good friend Mike Minjares stopped by … with some good Car stories 😉
Photographer Brian McCarty ( http://brianmccarty.com/ ) and LATDA museum (A 10 year reunion, ) / Japanese American National Museum (http://www.janm.org/) store director Maria Kwong and I reunite after 10 years and the Beyond Ultraman exhibit. I can’t say enough good things about Maria and Brian, such great people !
The show was packed both days and we nearly sold out of everything we brought ;-O Only a few items remain, which are now in the max toy web store. Next year the show moves to a bigger venue in Anaheim ( across from Disneyland ) so we will see you all there for 3 days !
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Finished the last of the @Kaiju_One, Trinity figures for a lucky collector ( below )
Sofubi-man Max Toy Preview
I showed a test shot of my newest character, Sofubi-man, at this past Dcon, which by the way was a fantastic show !
Awesome sculpt by Cristina Ravenna, who perfectly captured the spirit and character !
Sofubi-man stands about 6 inches tall.
Below is some info on him and pics… Pre Orders for the first version with be up in a few weeks ! Check Back !
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Sofubi-man is my homage to the men and women of
Japan, who have perfected the art of soft vinyl casting.
The process was originally brought to Japan in the 50s
by Mattel to produce their Barbie dolls. Soft vinyl — or
Sofubi, as it is known in Japan — are hand poured and
cast using heated liquid vinyl poured into iron molds.
These molds are heated up and cook the vinyl to the
desired thickness. At this point, the vinyl pieces are soft
enough to be pulled out of the mold and allowed to cool
down. Extra flash or trim is cut off these pieces and the figure
is assembled and painted.
Japanese toy collectors, and especially Kaiju collectors,
know this process through classic Ultraman & Godzilla soft
vinyl figures from the 60s & 70s.
Today this process of toy making in Japan remains basically
unchanged, though there are not as many factories left.
Max Toy Company is proud to use these craftsmen and
support this toy making tradition for the figures we make.
My initial sketches 😉 Actually a more complex version that maybe someday I’ll get to !
Max Toy Table TE17 Dcon Preview
Well decide to dump all the images here 😉 Max Toy Dcon stuffs, see us at Table TE17 !!!
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